Rule of Rose
Rule of Rose (ルールオブローズ, Rūru obu Rōzu) is a survival horror game for the PlayStation 2, developed by Punchline and published in 2006 by Atlus. The game focuses on psychological horror rather then physical fear, and has a distorted storyline and timeline which leaves the player with unanswered questions, much like other simular games such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Hill Silent Hill] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunting_Ground Haunting Ground]. The plot centres around a young girl called Jennifer and her cannine companion Brown, as she is forced to work for the Red Crayon Aristocrats; a unruly, mistreating society of children from the Rose Garden Orphanage. Overall, Rule of Rose has gained mixed reviews since it's release from many publications. It has also been the subject of controversy, due to the use of violence against the main character and suggested sexuality amongst its underaged, female characters. The theme of Rule of Rose is "A Love Suicide." Game Play For most of the game, the player most explore the environments and look for items, furthering the plot by accomplishing tasks and experiencing cut-scenes, as well as encountering random enemy battles and larger bosses. Early in the game, the player encounters Brown,who accompanies Jennifer throughout the game and will respond to the commands; such as tracking items by scent, be commanded to 'stay' and be called to Jennifer's side. Brown cannot attack enemies, but can growl, which distracts some imps and bosses, allowing Jennifer to retreat or land a few blows without fear of retaliation. He can be injured to the point of collapse causing him to stop distracting enemies or tracking an item. Brown's ability to locate items is an improtant part of the game, used in every chapter of Rule of Rose to progress further in game and plot. The same system allows the player to find health restoratives and other items which, whilst not essential to complete the game, can help the player. Players select an item from the inventory for Brown to locate another, which is then connected to the 'find' command until changed or removed. When tracking items this way, Brown will lead the player through the environments, scratching at doors in his way for the player to open. Most items are hidden and must be uncovered by Brown, though the player can choose to avoid searching for these items in order to progress quickly. Restorative items are snack foods, candy and scones, which each different types heal varying amounts of health. Animal Bones and meat can be used to restore Brown's health if he becomes injured. Other items - such as marbles and ribbons - have no immediate use, but may be traded with the Aristocrats in order to obtain food, unlockable items and weapons. Combat is almost exclusively melee, with a variety of improvised weapons available, such as kitchen knives and pipes. Jennifer is a timid character making her melee attacks with out a weapon neither powerful nor long-ranged. Plot Further infomation: Characters of Rule of Rose and Themes of Rule of Rose "Once upon a time, there was a precious little girl. Her friend, the Princess of the Red Rose was always at her side. Then one day, her mummy and daddy died suddenly, and the poor little girl was sent away to a strange house..." - The starting speech of Rule of Rose. The main story of Rule of Rose focus on a nineteen-year-old girl called Jennifer, as she recovers her fogotten memeries of her childhood and remembers the people she know at the Rose Garden Orphanage. Because the gameplot is based on Jennifer's memories alone, what really happens is not always obvious to the player since it only takes place over one year, and Jennifer's memory can alter or distort even mix up facts and days, what happened before and after the events of the game is never revealed properly, although some hints are given. Endings Bad Ending-Stray Dog lives and the screen fades to black Good Ending- Stray dog dies and you play the last level and watch a few extra cutscenes Critical Response Controversy In the USA In 2006 Atlus announced that they would be releasing Rule of Rose in the United States, following Sony's decision to pass on a US release. This was on the grounds of the game's erotic undertones involving a cast of female minors. The developers disagreed with this, saying that the sexual themes are only a small part of the game. In Europe Rule of Rose raised controversies in Poland, where the Ministry of Education raised questions concerning its appropriateness for minors (the game was rated 16+) because of the themes of child violence and sexuality. The Ministry informed the official prosecutor's office of possible crime. European Union justice minister Franco Frattini attacked the game as containing "obscene cruelty and brutality". He also called for changes to the PEGI rating system in place across Europe and for government officials to engage in discussions with industry representatives. According to news site The Register, Frattini received a letter from Viviane Reding, commissioner for the information society and media, who criticised Frattini's actions: "It is...very unfortunate that my services were not pre-consulted before your letter to the Ministers of Interior was sent out," Reding wrote, reminding him of the commission backed self-regulating ratings system called PEGI that has operated across the EU since 2003. The PEGI system of classification, according to Reding's letter, offers "informed adult choice" without censoring content. "This is in line with the Commission's view that measures taken to protect minors and human dignity must be carefully balanced with the fundamental right to freedom of expression as laid down in the Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union,". On 7 March 2007, a group of MEPs presented a Motion for a European Parliament resolution on a ban on the sale and distribution in Europe of the game and the creation of a 'European Observatory on childhood and minors'. The publisher has chosen to cancel the release of the game in the UK following complaints by Frattini and other EU officials, and "largely misleading" commentary from the UK press. It will be released in the rest of Europe. Review copies of the title had already shipped to UK journalists when this was announced. The UK body which had granted the title its 16+ PEGI rating (the Video Standards Council) responded to the press and Frattini's comments: "I have no idea where the suggestion of in-game sadomasochism has come from, nor children being buried underground. These are things that have been completely made up. ... We’re not worried about our integrity being called into question, because Mr Frattini’s quotes are nonsense." In Australia and New Zealand In November 2006, 505 Games' Australian and New Zealand distributor Red Ant Enterprises confirmed that the game had been cancelled in both territories. Red Ant stated that the game had not been submitted to the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification for approval, without which the game cannot be sold in Australia. Rule of Rose was scheduled for Australasian release in February 2007. External Links *[http://www.atlus.com/ruleofrose/ Offical Rose of Rose US wedsite] *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_rose Rule of Rose] on Wikipedia *[http://www.dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Action-Adventure/Survival_Horror/Rule_of_Rose/ Rule of Rose] on Open Directory Project Category: Game Category: Media